


Temporary Allies

by crunchy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Stranded on an Island, developing feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-25 21:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17129315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crunchy/pseuds/crunchy
Summary: After an intense battle, Rey and Kylo end up stranded on an uncharted planet in the outer rim. While they wait to be rescued, they must survive together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lizardbeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizardbeth/gifts).



The smoke filling Rey’s lungs woke her immediately. Groaning and coughing from the smoke, she slowly opened her eyes to see only fire and wrecked metal. She began to move, but an intense pain in her right leg stopped her. Crying out, she glanced down at the long metal rod sticking out from her mid-thigh. “Kriff!” she cried repeatedly as she tried to move her leg upward. Trying to remain calm, Rey began glancing around and eventually she found her lightsaber, but it was right next to what looked to be oil leaking from what Rey recognized as the beat up fuel cells. The fire will reach the oil at any moment now, meaning Rey needed to move. 

 

She extended her hand to her lightsaber and it came promptly. Carefully, she ignited one side of her dual-sided saber and sliced most of the top of the rod. Rey screamed as she slid off the remnants of the rod, tears streaming down her face. The pain of that sudden movement clouded her vision and made her feel unsteady. She wanted to lay down and rest, but she needed to focus on getting out of there first. 

 

Once she rolled off the metal plate that held the rod, she immediately hit sand. Slowly, she got on all fours and began crawling out of the rubble, careful not to put too much pressure on her impaled leg. However, a presence caught her attention. She saw Kylo within the rubble as well, but she knew he was not actually in front of her. “Ben,” she whispered. He was still in the wreckage and Rey didn’t have much time. 

 

Turning around, she managed to stand, but hurriedly limped through the rubble around her. She paused to kick some sand over the oil to try to slow down the inevitable explosion that was about to happen. “Ben!” she hoarsely screamed through the crackling roar of the flames. The smoke didn’t help her voice so she raised the top of her vest to her face. With her nose and mouth covered by the inside of her vest, Rey quickly shuffled through the rubble, looking for the messy head of black hair. The temporary “filter” would not help with the majority of the smoke, but neither would an explosion. 

 

“Ben!” she called again and again until she heard the sound of coughing nearby. Rey turned toward the noise and found Kylo under a large piece of metal, just like in her vision of him. “Hold on!” she cried as she put all her focus on the metal plate. It lifted easily and Rey threw it to the side. Limping up to Kylo, she ended up shouldering his whole weight on her good leg and carefully limped out of the wreckage on nothing but pure adrenaline. She could barely feel her leg, but the rush was too much for her to notice the trail of crimson red she was leaving behind. 

 

The wreckage exploded once the pair made it out of the deadly blast radius, but the force of the blast still managed to knock Rey and Kylo off further from the wreck. Though Rey did not hit her head, she felt the world spin, her ears rang and her head throbbed like she’d been hit with something hard. Her eyelids felt heavier and heavier and she could not feel anything anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

The familiar warmth of sand woke Rey. Opening her eyes, she found herself propped up against what looked to be a tall tree. She was mostly sitting in the shade, but the sun hit her feet, warming her body up. Rey looked down at the wound on her leg and found a cloth wrapped tightly around her thigh. It was blood-soaked, but it definitely helped stop the major bleeding. 

 

“You’re up,” Rey cursed when she moved her head too soon, snapping her head to see Kylo walk up to her. He knelt before Rey’s injured leg once he approached. “You’re still bleeding out so don’t move. This was the best I could do with what we have. You lost a lot of blood,” his gentle, almost motherly tone threw Rey off guard. “I’ll bring you some food and I just found a spring,” he continued talking as if nothing had happened. He seemed as if they hadn’t nearly died in an explosion and they weren’t at different ends of a war. This caring Kylo was not a complete surprise, but the quickness of his nurturing behavior caught Rey off guard. “Wait- uh Ben. What happened?” Rey stuttered dryly. The dry feeling in her throat itched. 

 

“I woke up and you were bleeding in the sand. If I didn’t do anything, you would have died of blood loss, or infection if you survive the blood loss,” Kylo stated. Rey looked back at her wound and back to Kylo, who looked away. Rey felt a small blush warm her cheeks. “Thank you.” Kylo actually paused and gazed softly at her. “Actually, I should be thanking you. I know you pulled me out of the wreckage before you passed out.” Rey felt her face warm and she looked down and hummed in response, praying that Kylo didn’t see the blush spreading all over. 

 

The morning passed and both Rey and Kylo managed to eat and drink. They did not speak much to each other and once they were both done with their breakfast of roots and sour fruit, Kylo stood as if the silence meant nothing to him. 

 

He pointed at Rey’s wound “We need to clean your wound now that I found that spring,” he stated bluntly and casually slipped his arms under her back and knees. Rey cried out in part surprise and part pain “Hey!” she did not fight back, but the irritation in her eyes was clear. “We need to clean your wound and this is faster,” Kylo explained with a blush that covered his face and ears. Seeing this, Rey couldn’t help but smile. She could sense he was being genuine in his care for her but she couldn’t understand why. They were still enemies and especially after what had happened after the Supremacy, Rey wouldn’t have been surprised if Kylo just up and killed her in her sleep. 

 

“I can sense your doubt,” Kylo muttered as he maneuvered through dense jungle. “I’m helping you because I’m not your enemy,” he stated bluntly. Rey’s eyes widened. He may have been being terribly blunt and to the point since she woke up, but she felt the warmth in what he’d just said. It reminded her of their encounter on a different island not long ago. The firepit between them was not the only warmth Rey felt that night. But the reminder of that day reminded Rey why they’d broken off from each other. “Then what are you?” the way she asked must have surprised him as he shot her another soft look. “For now, allies,” Rey scoffed. “For now? What about later?” she half-teasingly asked. 

 

However before Kylo could answer, they reached the spring that Kylo mentioned earlier. The water bubbled at certain points and was incredibly blue. The flora around the spring included bushes full of blooming flowers and fruits and several shrubs and trees that surrounded the area. It reminded Rey of how much she was missing in the universe. “It’s beautiful,” Rey whispered, her eyes transfixed on the scene. She’d never seen such blue water. It was bluer than the clear skies of Jakku and did not compare to the bodies of water of Ach-to or Takodana. “Yes,” Rey turned her attention back to Kylo, who’d seem to have been watching her face this whole time. Startled, he silently looked away and continued to one bank of the water. 

 

He set her down carefully, making sure the wound did not touch the ground. “I need to see if there are any shards in the wound before we clean it,” he knelt beside her and peeked into the large hole in her leg. He made sure not to touch or disturb the wound too much while searching. Rey watched him diligently, admiring his focus and thoughtfulness all at once and realized how close he’d been to her this whole time. Shaking the thought from her head, Kylo straightened and sighing, looked at her. “There are shards. We need to remove them first,” he pushed the hair out of his face and continued “I can remove them in one go with the Force, but it’s still not going to feel pleasant,” Rey gulped and already began bracing herself. “Okay then, go do what you need to do,” she quickly said, the nervousness in her voice clear. Kylo nodded and he looked right at Rey’s wound. Suddenly he brought his hand up and Rey gasped, immediately clutching his free hand that rested on his knee. Surprised, Kylo looked at the hand on top of his, and turned it over to hold her hand tightly in his. As soon as he gestured his hand upward, she began to grit her teeth and squeeze his hand tighter. The noises she made made Kylo’s heart clench as it reminded him of Snoke torturing her while he stood by like a coward. This time though, he knew he was helping but couldn’t help the guilt that encroached over his heart. With one last gesture upward, several little shards exited the wound and Rey finally relaxed in his hand. 

 

Rey fell back into the gravel with a thud, startling Kylo. He peered over and saw she was still conscious, but sweating profusely and panting. The view made Kylo’s cheeks warm, but he broke away from her and turned toward the wound to clean and wrap it up in a new cloth that came from his cape. 

 

Looking down at Rey, Kylo noticed her eyes were closed. “Rey?” he loomed over her, to make sure she was still breathing. Once he knew she was okay, he brought a tentative bare hand up to her cheek. As if she were the most fragile work of art, he lightly dragged his fingertips over her cheek as if to soothe her. “You’ll be okay.” 


	2. Chapter 2

When Rey woke, it was dark and she was beside a fire wrapped in what seemed to be Kylo’s cape, yet she still felt cold. The chill was like Jakku’s coldest nights, but the hot mornings were more humid than Jakku's dryer climate. Groaning, Rey sat up, trying not to disturb her wound too much. 

 

She looked across the fire and found Kylo near it. He was sleeping soundly, yet he did not look comfortable at all. “He’s sleeping directly on the sand,” Rey noted. Rey knew from experience that sleeping directly on the sand was terrible. It was cold and you were prone to breathing in the grains. She stood slowly, made her way to Kylo’s side and lay next to him. She couldn’t move him, so she thought to just join him for now to keep both of them warm. After wrapping them both in his massive cape, she finally noticed how close they actually were. Looking up at his sleeping face she smiled softly when she saw how much he’d relaxed next to her. 

 

Rey noted how he still looked grumpy when he was asleep. However, the grumpy look seemed to have softened slightly when she laid next to him. Rey reasoned that he relaxed because it was warmer. Without notice, Rey slowly drifted off to sleep once more. 

 

* * *

 

When Rey woke again, she immediately looked up to see Kylo’s shocked face. Gasping, Rey sat up quickly, earning a yelp of pain. “Don’t move so quickly,” Kylo scolded. “You okay?” His concern somehow made Rey’s heart beat faster.  

 

Rey took a deep breath. “Yes. I- uh,” she slowly began to stand and made sure to be careful not to reopen her wound. “I got cold last night and- I- you… looked  cold,” Rey noticed her stammering seemed to amuse Kylo based off the smug smirk on his face. “I might have been,” he answered. When he stood, he realized how close they were to each other and he quickly backed off and coughed. "Y-you must be hungry.” This time Rey smirked in response to his behavior. She'd been alone on a barren planet for years and had never experienced anything like this. She couldn't place the feeling exactly. She wondered if Kylo felt anything similar before. "No, I haven't." he answered, startling Rey. "Can you stop doing that?" her irritation was clear in her voice. Kylo scoffed in response and they moved on to find food. 

 

* * *

 

 

During breakfast, they’d been silent again. They’d exchanged looks and glances, but the silence remained until Rey spoke up finally. “You were… sleeping on the sand. If you do that you… uh risk inhaling sand,” as she spoke, Kylo nodded in response and stood, but Rey couldn’t look at him directly. Rey blushed when she remembered what she did. She still didn’t understand why she did what she did. Maybe she was sleepwalking or too tired to think? 

 

“U-uh maybe it’s for the best that we share warmth from now on,” Kylo suddenly suggested. Rey peered up at his reddened face and couldn’t help the red overtaking her cheeks. “Yeah… For warmth…” she replied nervously. “B-besides, you know a lot about sleeping on sand,” This comment took Rey aback.  _ ‘Was that a joke?’ _ Kylo’s ears perked and Rey realized he’d heard that. They shared a moment of silence and looks until Rey’s smile began to crack. Sputtering with laughter, Kylo took a moment, but he suddenly couldn’t help himself from his own sputtering. "Didn't I tell you to stop doing that?" her laughter began to die down. Coughing back to composure, Kylo answered "I can't help that you're thinking so loud, Rey." Rey nearly chocked on the water she was drinking when he said that. 

 

* * *

 

 

The rest of the day went pleasantly after breakfast. Kylo brought Rey some logs he’d cut with his lightsaber and rey began to help create shelter while staying relatively still. 

 

Kylo brought both of them their meals for the day and they continued to work and casually speak about nothing important. When they called it a night under a partially finished hut, Rey and Kylo once again cuddled up to each other with a little less tension than before, but that didn’t stop the rapid heartbeats or the red blush that spread over their cheeks. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With no help in sight nor any way of communicating outside of the planet, Rey and Kylo spent the next five days surviving with only each other on the island.  
> They managed a system of sorts. They spent nearly every moment together as Kylo assisted Rey as she healed. Kylo would bring them food, and Rey even requested that he teach her how to cook. 
> 
> Life was pleasant on the island. It was simple, quiet and not filled with explosions and death. It was the kind of life they both could get used to.

“Day 6,” Rey yawned from under the cape. She snuggled closer to Kylo and drifted back off to sleep, leaving Kylo’s cheeks flushed and unable to move from his spot. It was still early in the morning but now there was no chance for Kylo to fall back asleep. “Rey-” he whispered, but it was met with a low groan and an arm wrapping around his body. Once his heart began settling again, he sighed. He knew he was stuck there, so he’d might as well enjoy the peaceful moment.

 

When Kylo gazed down at her face, he couldn’t help the smile that graced his face. She looked content and truly at peace; a feeling he envied. For now though, this was enough peace to tide him over. He prayed to whatever higher being there was that this moment could last.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Kylo didn’t know when he drifted back off to sleep, but the smell of smoke and the sounds of screams roused him. “Rey!” he called as he opened his eyes. However, Rey wasn’t there. He turned and saw a temple on fire and bodies surrounding him. The whine of a swinging lightsaber and the cries of those still alive rung in his ears. “No,” he desperately shook his head and looked down to find a familiar blue saber in his hand. It was the saber he used to cut down his fellow students.

 

Suddenly Kylo felt sick. He heard another cry and as soon as he turned, he found his saber, lodged deep into Han Solo’s chest. “No!” he screamed. His chest tightened, remembering the moment he struck down his own father and the words he told him. He remembered the loving look in his eyes, the look of compassion and pure fatherly love. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness!” he screamed furiously at the memory. “Stop looking at me like that!”

 

“Stop it!”

 

Yet another, longer, drawn out scream caught his attention. It was a familiar scream that reminded him of his weakness. Kylo’s heart stopped and he couldn’t bear to look at what he knew would break him further.

 

“Ben!”

 

Kylo was pulled out of his nightmare with a gasp and a jump. Trying to catch his breath, he looked up and found Rey’s tear-filled face above him. It looked to be mid-day and Rey was still beside him.”Rey,” he breathed in relief.

 

“What happened? You… you just started shaking and making weird noises and- and…” she trailed off with a relieved sigh of her own and bent down and bumped her forehead against Kylo’s. “I’m just glad you were okay,”

 

_‘The same could be said to you,’_ Realizing what he said, he looked at Rey, who looked back at him with surprise. They still weren’t quite used to having the connection again. Because of Crait, they knew that Snoke was not the reason why they were connected, but that only added more questions than answers for them. They mentioned it over the fire one night on the island, but they were no close to an answer.

 

Kylo got up and moved closer to the fire. Rey sensed his frustration and cautiously followed.

 

“Ben-”

 

“Don’t call me that,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t deserve that name anymore,” his harsh words he muttered tugged at Rey’s heart. It hurt, but she knew this wasn’t the Ben she knew.

 

“But it’s your name. You’ve never complained before,” Rey commented. Kylo looked up to her and made sure they kept eye contact. “You know what I’ve done. I killed Han Solo, I slaughtered the Jedi, I’ve slaughtered thousands of innocents- all to achieve galactic balance. After all of that, do you really think that I deserve the name of a Jedi?” He then shifted his focus to his feet.

 

There was a short pause before Rey spoke up again. “I saw what you were dreaming about,” Kylo shot up to look at her again. She must have looked into his mind while he was thrashing in his sleep. He couldn’t tell what he felt more in that moment: shame or fear. Would she fear him finally after seeing what kind of a mess he was? Would she hate him more for what he’d done?

 

A warm hand on Kylo’s cheek brought him back to attention. Rey was knelt before him, looking up into his eyes. “I saw that there was still humanity in you. You’ve done terrible things, that is certain,” as Kylo began to look away again, Rey brought her other hand up to his other cheek and turned his head to face her. “But you can still change. You can still redeem yourself. Learn from your mistakes and do some good with it,”

 

Kylo scoffed, but did not look or move away from Rey. “It’s easier said than done,”

 

“That’s true, but it can be done.” Rey smiled up at Kylo’s hopeless face. She traced her thumb over the scar she’d left on him. “You’re not a monster,” she whispered. It was then Rey noticed how close they were to each other. Despite the fact they’ve been sleeping against each other the past few days, they still weren’t used to this closeness. Kylo noticed the faint red on her cheeks, but couldn’t help but stare at her pink lips. They stared at each other quietly, each thinking differently.

 

_‘I want to believe you, Rey’_

 

_‘I believe in you.’_

 

Kylo sucked in a breath. He couldn’t believe that she could think there was anything good left in him. She was an orphan from the unruly and unforgiving planet of Jakku. There was almost nothing good from her past, so why does she believe so much in him?

 

The chuckle Kylo let out was bittersweet. “I can’t believe you…” he paused and composed himself into a small smile. “You’re something else, Rey from Jakku,” Rey sighed and backed off with a small smile. “You’re full of surprises as well, Ben Solo.”

 

After a little more chatting and getting to know each other, the pair went back to sleep. Kylo felt a little lighter, but his sins still felt heavy in his heart. Before falling back asleep, he thought about what Rey had said. If redemption was truly possible for him, would anything he could do make up for his sins?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo contemplates what Rey had told him before. 
> 
> The pair are visited into their seventh day on the island. Will they find a way off?

Rey was the first to wake in the morning of their seventh day on the island. The sun had just barely risen over the horizon and the air was still chilled. It wasn’t until Rey noticed a glimmer out in the distance. She squinted and after a moment, the vague silhouette of a shuttle appeared. It was small and old. Rey couldn’t make out any symbols or the exact make of the shuttle, but she knew they can’t take any risks. 

 

Turning to Kylo, Rey quickly shook him. “Ben. We need to hide,” Rey urgently suggested. She began to stand and summoned her saber from the sand near them. Kylo stirred until the whirring of engines made him shoot up from his spot. “They’re landing at the wreckage, come on,” she gestured over to the wreckage and began walking over cautiously. Luckily they were close enough to the trees where they wouldn’t be spotted as easily. Kylo got up and grabbed his saber, following behind Rey. 

 

* * *

 

 

After scoping out the area, Rey and Kylo counted twelve armed junkers. “They’re scavenging the ship,” Rey pointed out. “They probably heard that there was a battle here a few days ago and came by. What should we do Rey-” Kylo turned his head and Rey was already gone. “Rey?” he looked around and noticed her casually walking through the wreckage toward one of the scavengers. “Oh Kriff…” Kylo sighed in exasperation and stayed hidden.  _ ‘What are you doing?’ _ he thought, trying to convey all annoyance into his thought.  _ ‘Don’t worry. Just stay there and follow my lead.’ _

 

Kylo stayed put and watched Rey approach the Klatooinian junker. As soon as he spotted her, he immediately went hostile. Luckily Rey stopped the blaster bolt and walked around it. However, any talking down she was doing was not working and soon she was surrounded. Groaning, Kylo began sneaking closer. 

 

_ ‘So that didn’t work too well,”  _

 

_ Kylo answered with sarcasm ‘You don’t say. What were you doing?’   _

 

_ ‘Trying to find a ride out of here peacefully?’ _

 

_ ‘Right. That worked out great,’ _ Kylo snorted and managed to sneak up on a few scrappers. ‘ _ Get ready,’ _ Kylo warned. 

 

Kylo stood from behind hid cover and immediately decapitated 3 junkers in one swing. 

 

“You couldn’t give me another minute?” Rey called, dodging blaster fire. “Nope!’ Kylo called back, cutting through another few junkers with ease. Rey took out the men closest to her easily and shortly after the fight had begin, they were down to the last man, who Kylo had just torn through with his wild red saber.

 

The pair searched the bodies and found keys amongst them. The scrappers weren’t anything special and probably came out there to the Outer Rim for an easy score. 

 

“I tried to give them an option,” Rey shrugged. “You seem a little too comfortable after killing these guys for someone who preaches peace,” Kylo commented. The pair made their way to the shuttle and Rey smirked as the entered. “You act like I’ve never killed anyone before. I have many times out of self-defense. On Jakku, many have tried to rob me of my portions or my parts and eventually I learned how to fight. When you learn how to fight on jakku, you must always be ready to kill someone who could hold a grudge,” she explained as she sat in the pilot’s chair. Kylo nodded. “Fair enough.”

 

As Rey began to take off, they both looked down on the island and both sighed. They were both going to miss the island, but things still needed to be done in the galaxy. 

 

It was then Rey realized something important. “Wait, where exactly are we going?” she asked. “How about back with me?”

 

“Ben, no. We are not doing this again,” Rey said sternly. She was afraid that he would still be stuck in in his old mindset. Kylo sadly smiled at Rey. “The how about…”

 

After listing several core worlds, Rey and Kylo settled to land on Naboo, a currently neutral party. Rey knew Kylo would not allow to be taken to a Resistance territory and Rey did not want to be brought back to First Order territory. 

 

* * *

 

 

As the landed on Naboo, Kylo and Rey sat in the cockpit, staring at each other. 

 

Rey smiled sadly “So,” 

 

Kylo matched her smile and nodded. “So…” 

 

Both took a deep breath. Rey suddenly grabbed Kylo’s right hand and squeezed it. “Be careful out there Ben. And please think about what I said, “ she sighed. Kylo squeezed her hand back tightly, as if not wanting to ever let go and replied. “I’ll try. I hope one day we can meet again like on the island,”

 

“Without the explosions and…” she gestured down to her leg. It healed rapidly and without much pain and Rey was more than thankful that she was okay now. 

 

They did not want to let go of the moment or their joined hands. Rey kissed Kylo’s hand and stood first. “You’re a good man, Ben Solo. And don’t worry, I’m always with you,” Rey smiled brightly and tapped her temple. She let go of Kylo’s hand and began walking out of the shuttle. “I’ll talk to you later Ben,” It only took a moment and Rey was gone. What Kylo didn’t know was that Rey’s heart felt heavier as she moved further from him. She did not want to leave as much as Kylo had not wanted her to leave, but they had separate duties to attend to.

 

Kylo looked down at the hand Rey had kissed and blushed with a reassured smile. This warmth he felt from her was something he wanted his whole life. She always felt warm and radiated warmth like the sun around him. He wanted to fight for that warmth, to have it near him every day. When Rey left, the warmth was gone and he felt alone once more. Maybe it was time to make a change. “Thank you Rey,” he thought for a moment what life would be like if he would change his ways and be with Rey. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad,” he sighed. “Maybe I should do better.” 

 


End file.
